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| 1995-2004 Triumph 900 Thunderbird |
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| Performance |   |
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| Plenty of power all over the rev range, without being buzzy, hyper, or difficult to modulate. |
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| Handling |  |
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| A very nice compromise. Suspension compliance and ground clearance not on a par with sport bikes, but nothing to fault given the bike's mission. Sport version gets more adjustable suspension, but retains laid-back steering geometry. |
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| Looks | |
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| When this bike came out, I thought it looked like a gimmicky, awkward mash-up of '60s Bonneville and the throughly modern Hinckley Trident 900. My impression has improved dramatically with time. After a decade and a half, the 900 Thunderbird is a welcome change from new bikes that all look like transforming robots. The flat seat and pea-shooter mufflers make the Thunderbird my choice over the nearly identical Legend. |
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| Reliability | |
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| John Bloor knew that to be successful, he had to dispel the old British reputation for unreliability from the very start. He might have overshot his goal; the initial Hinckley triples and fours are astoundingly overbuilt. |
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| Practicality | |
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| Main complaints are a poorly padded seat that ruins otherwise comfortable ergonomics, and inflated costs for replacement parts (though they remain readily available, thanks to the company's many similar modular designs). |
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| Desirability | |
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| The naked 900 triples are my favorite 'new era' Triumphs, and among them the Thunderbird looks most like a Triumph. |
| Overall | |
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| Despite a few clumsy details, the Thunderbird works as a retro-style fashion accessory and as a modern piece of serious transportation. |
TOMORROW: Honda GL1200 Standard
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